12 in French
douze
Spellings verified June 2026 · page updated 2 October 2026
A dozen
“Twelve in French” is douze, the number 12. Hear it spoken below.
NUMERAL
12
FRENCH
douze
IPA
/duz/
Ordinal form
Ranking things rather than counting them: 12 becomes douzième, written 12e in figures.
MASCULINE
douzième
12e
FEMININE
douzième
12e (same word as the masculine)
French writes the abbreviation with a plain e, never ème: 12e. The Académie française allows two irregular pairs: premier and première abbreviate 1er and 1re, and second and seconde abbreviate 2d and 2de. Full rules on the ordinal numbers reference.
Counting around 12
Real sentence examples
“Je voudrais une douzaine d'œufs (douze).”
“Il est midi - il est douze heures.”
“L'horloge marque douze heures cinq.”
Pronunciation and morphology notes
Douze is a unique word (not "dix-deux"). The form survives from Latin "duodecim". Note "midi" is more common than "douze heures" in everyday speech, though both are correct. Une douzaine (a dozen) is a collective noun built on douze.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say twelve (12) in French?
Twelve in French is "douze" (the number 12).
How is douze (12) pronounced in French?
In the International Phonetic Alphabet, "douze" is transcribed /duz/. Use the audio button on this page to hear the standard French pronunciation.
What is the ordinal form of 12 in French?
The ordinal for 12 is "douzième", abbreviated 12e. The form is the same in the masculine and the feminine.
How is 12 used in a French sentence?
A natural example is: "Je voudrais une douzaine d'œufs (douze)."
Related numbers
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